DEATH: Family Guy kills off one of their most beloved characters, resulting in enraged fans.
By Cole Nelson, Diversions Editor
In the premiere episode of Family Guy’s season nine (titled And Then There Were Fewer: Part 1&2), the creators killed off a number of their recognizable—although not particularly popular—characters, much to the surprise of the audience. The deaths had no justifiable reason and no plot significance; it was simply a decision to rid the show of a few minor characters. I recall watching this event with disbelief, thinking that because Family Guy hadn’t executed any of their characters in times past, this was only a hoax. Shockingly, this was not just another joke played by Seth MacFarlane, Family Guy’s creator and main voice actor. The Griffins and their fellow characters continued living their ordinary lives, as did the viewers, impervious to the deceased.
This was the way the show continued for some time, up until the most recent episode, The Life of Brian, when (forgive me for spoiling such a tragic event) the beloved Brian Griffin died as a result of being hit by a car. Directly after, fans were and still are enraged. “America’s dog,” as one fan describes Brian, no longer lives his liberal, atheistic, scholarly life that brought rationalism to the often chaotic mishaps and adventures of the Griffin family.
What could cause such a reaction to Brian’s death? After all, characters are killed off in television shows quite frequently—Charlie Pace of the series Lost bravely gave his life to save those of others, Breaking Bad’s Hank Schrader was murdered towards the series’ end and multiple characters from The Walking Dead have been brutally attacked and killed. What is it with Brian’s death that is marked as unacceptable rather than the persistent offensive joking?
It could be the fact that (although harshly inappropriate, insensitive and fairly bold at times) Family Guy is a light-hearted, animated comedy series—rather than a live-action drama—that is meant to induce laughter more than anything. Therefore, a feeling of grief is not expected from its audience. However, I find this to be a somewhat minor factor as to why the audience is so upset.
The central reasoning has to do with Brian’s character and what he stood for throughout the show: he was a civil rights activist on many occasions, fiction author, marijuana advocate and supporter of atheism. He argued in favor of pro-choice, gay marriage and Toyota Prii while standing against Wal-Mart and militarism. Brian Griffin was one of television’s leading liberals. He was intrepid enough to voice his controversial opinions (on one such occasion, Brian became a pariah to his hometown for publicly admitting that he does not believe in any sort of god). It was Brian’s nerve that attracted such a large liberal audience to Family Guy (which is ironically aired on Fox television); he established the political and cultural standpoint of the entire show.
Many of the positions held by Family Guy mirror, to no surprise, those of creator Seth MacFarlane, who also does several of the show’s voices. It is Brian Griffin whose voice is most similar to MacFarlane’s normal voice, and not through mere coincidence. Of all the Family Guy characters, Brian Griffin exhibits a personality that is the most parallel to his creator, embodying a cartoonized version of MacFarlane.
Therefore, by killing Brian Griffin, Family Guy writers have indirectly killed, both figuratively and literally, the liberal voice of the show, the proverbial “leader” of the show’s audience. After over 200 episodes spanning over 11 seasons, Brian Griffin no longer exists, whether we like it or not.
Rumors have since spread about the future of Family Guy. Some of these include: a possible, yet unlikely, return of Brian, the continual death of additional main characters as a means to end the series completely or simply having the show go on without its talking pooch. Whatever the case may be, Family Guy fans will always find comfort in the past expressiveness of “America’s dog.”
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